Chef Books are Hot in 2017

Chef books are one of my many weaknesses when it comes to
cookbooks. There are some great titles being published this year
and today I'll share a few that I'm excited about. These types of
titles bring to me the experience of dining out. Like most people,
we don't have the opportunity to travel as much as we would like to
- and don't often get to eat at some of the big name restaurants.
Having a little peek into this realm in cookbook form is enough for
me. Please remember, if you are going to pre-order any of these
titles, using our BUY BOOK button helps support our indexing
efforts and is much appreciated.

MUNCHIES: Late-Night Eats from
the World's Best Chefs by JJ Goode and Helen Hollyman and
Editors of MUNCHIES brings the hugely popular show Chef's
Night Out (on VICE Media's food website, MUNCHIES) to the page with
snapshots of food culture in cities around the world, plus tall
tales and fuzzy recollections from 65 of the world's top chefs,
including Anthony Bourdain, Dominique Crenn, David Chang, Danny
Bowien, Wylie Dufresne, Inaki Aizpitarte, and Enrique Olvera, among
others. Really looking forward to this title coming in October from
Ten Speed Press.

The Chef and the Slow Cooker by Hugh Acheson brings 100
recipes to show readers how an appliance generally relegated to
convenience cooking can open up a whole new culinary world. In this
title coming in October from Clarkson Potter, Acheson celebrates
fresh recipes with a chef's twist, dishes like brisket with soy,
orange, ginger, and star anise, or pork shoulder braised in milk
with fennel and raisins. The exciting part of this book is that the
chef demonstrates what a slow cooker can really do, things like
poaching and holding eggs at the perfect temperature for your
brunch party, or for making easy duck confit, or for the simplest
stocks and richest overnight ramen broth. I have to admit I seldom
use the slow cooker but with recipes and ideas from a master - I
may have to dust that baby off.

Kristen Kish Cooking: Recipes
and Techniques by Kristen Kish and Meredith Erickson brings
recipes that are surprising yet refined, taking the expected-an
ingredient or a technique, for example-and using it in a new way to
make dishes that are unique and irresistible. She sears avocado and
pairs it with brined shrimp flavored with coriander and ginger. A
broth laced with pancetta and parmesan is boosted with roasted
mushrooms and farro for an earthy, soulful dish. Caramelized honey,
which is sweet, smoky, and slightly bitter, is spiked with chiles
and lemon and served with fried chicken thighs. The results are
delicious, inspiring, and definitely worth trying at home. Kristen
was a favorite on Top Chef and I'm happy to see this book coming
from Clarkson Potter this October.

Project 258: Making Dinner at
Fish & Game by Zak Pelaccio and Peter Barrett is being
released next month and celebrates Fish & Game, a popular
Hudson Valley restaurant. The book is in a word - stunning. It
presents an enticing selection of seasonal recipes, profiles of key
producers who supply the restaurant, and insight into the processes
behind Pelaccio's restaurant. The chef and his staff handcraft many
staple ingredients, including fish sauce, vinegars, maple syrup,
and prosciutto and explains how the methods and techniques
practiced at Fish & Game can be applied to the food that grows
wherever you live. I was pleasantly surprised by the exciting and
varied recipes this book provides along with the gorgeous
photographs. Beautiful enough to be a coffee table book but
approachable enough to be used in our kitchens
everyday.

sketch by Mourad Mazouz and
Pierre Gagnaire celebrates the unique meeting place in the centre
of London created by the authors. The converted 18th-century
building in Mayfair is an opulent, zany maze with treasures to be
discovered in every room. A mad hatter's fantasy comes alive in the
enchanted woodland Glade tearoom. Eccentric tasty tricks abound in
the Parlour patisserie. The kitsch Gallery bistro fills you with
gorgeous nosh. Chic pre-dinner cocktails in the urbane East Bar
prepare you for the Michelin magic unleashed in the vibrant Lecture
Room & Library. Whether you want a tearoom, bistro, restaurant,
bar or nightclub, sketch has the best to offer. Now these myriad
food, drink and entertainment styles are captured in a book - the
phantasmagoric compendium of all things Sketch. Unique cuisine is
at its heart. World-renowned three-Michelin-star chef Pierre
Gagnaire showcases the best 85 recipes from Sketch's kaleidoscopic
menus. Interlaced with the recipes are histories and art from the
wonderful gastrodome. This title is coming in September from
Absolute Press.

So Good: 100 Recipes from My
Kitchen to Yours by Richard Blais from Houghton Mifflin shares
how the Top Chef cooks at home when the cameras are off.
Elevated homestyle recipes and personal stories which invite
you behind the scenes and into his own kitchen for the first time
are shared. Some recipes might look familiar, like spaghetti and
meatballs, but have a secret, flavor-boosting ingredient, and
others feature clever but unexpected techniques, like his fried
chicken which is first marinated in pickle juice (I do that all the
time!). These are creative recipes that anyone can make and are
sure to excite, from Seabass with Ginger Beer and Bok Choy to
Jerked Spatchcock Chicken and Plantains, making this this the book
Blais fans have been waiting for - and we only have to wait until
May.

Brae: Recipes and Stories from the Restaurant
by Dan Hunter is the debut book from the celebrated award-winning
pioneer of modern Australian food. In the countryside outside
Melbourne, Hunter has transformed a rustic farmhouse into the
award-winning Brae, one of Australia's most exciting dining
destinations. Brae attracts diners from around the world with its
fine-dining approach to hyper-local cuisine. This book is set to be
released in April in the UK and US by Phaidon. Please remember Eat
Your Book members receive 30% off Phaidon titles when using the link
provided.

4 Comments

I'm of 50/50 feeling on chef's cookbooks. Some if geared towards home cooking are generally great and have lots of good pointers but there are others that are visually beautiful but incredibly hard to cook with because of ingredients being used or taking huge amounts of time. I did not think twice about 3 days of baking prep to make one single cake following one of BA's desserts back in the late 70's but now I just can't see myself taking that kind of time on one recipe.